NDA gave nod to Akshardham temple: Sheila

New Delhi, Jan 08 (Agencies): A day after Union Minister Jairam Ramesh said the Akshardham temple here did not have environment clearance, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Saturday countered him saying the green nod had been given to it by the NDA government.

"I do not know in what context Ramesh spoke. However, the decision to give the clearance was taken by the then NDA government and the permission was given by the authorities," Dikshit told reporters here.

She was responding to the statement by the Environment Ramesh on Friday that the temple was constructed on the Yamuna river bed without mandatory environment clearance.

Raising questions over construction of the Commonwealth Games Village and Akshardham temple on the Yamuna bank here, Ramesh had said the Village should not have been given environmental clearance while there was no application ever for such permission to build the temple.

Ramesh had, however, conceded that the structure could not be demolished now.